Who won?
by RiaMkjee
Summary: Hermione always thought she knew the difference between dark and light, but after going back in time she realises there really isn't any. M for later. HGxTM
1. Chapter 1

_Agony._

Bellatrix Lestrange had left her arm completely bloody.

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and tried to endure the searing pain that was going through her entire body right now. Every muscle ached with the after effects of the cruciatus curse. Breathing hard she heard a mad cackle coming from above her as she lay on the cold, hard floor of Malfoy Manor.

"Whats the matter mudblood? Waiting for potter to come and rescue you?" shouted Bellatrix.

Hermione winced at the high pitched voice and tried to look away but Bellatrix had made sure she couldn't move. With tears streaming down her face she tried not to whimper out loud but was failing miserably. The never should have let themselves get caught by the snatchers! how stupid of me to apparate without really thinking of a safe destination. This was the price to pay for not being careful during a war. Where was Harry? were he and Ron being tortured too? what if they never come? Im going to die, she realized. This thought made her numb. Her crying ceased and she went still. She was never going to see Voldemort fall and they may never win the battle. Her mind began to swim, Everything got hazy. Bellatrix's voice seemed to be going far away and before she knew it she blacked out.

* * *

 _The pain was slowly ebbing away._

 _She was at peace._

"Granger"

Hermione's eyelids fluttered in response.

"Granger get up, get up !" someone was patting her cheek desperately. Hermione opened her eyes as soon as she gained consciousness and found herself looking up into the icy blue eyes of Draco Malfoy. _What_? Was her first thought. "For Gods sake you need to get out of here before the others arrive!" She was still on the black marble floor of Malfoy's dining chamber. She could see the enormous victorian chandelier behind Malfoy's head swaying. What happened? Was she perhaps dead? She looked at her left arm and saw that the wound had been poorly healed. Atleast the pain has reduced.

"Thats the most I could do for now" Malfoy said with an impatient tinge in his voice.

"What…wait.. wheres Bellatrix?" she mumbled completely confused. Scanning the room, she found a petrified Bellatrix holding up her wand. Did Malfoy do that? Malfoy hurriedly pulled her up with force which made her wince. Why was he helping her? Wasn't he a death eater? "Why are you helping me?" she questioned, looking up at him with furrowed brows.

"Stop talking Granger" he growled and pulled her along with him to the right into a dark corridor. Her legs felt like jelly. Whats happening? She never thought she would get out of that alive. Trying to keep up with malfoys long strides seemed like a task after being tortured and Hermione was panting like crazy. They entered a room that had a lot of old dusty furniture, which she thought looked a lot like the room of requirement.

"Get inside that cabinet" Out of breath, Malfoy didn't waste a second and shoved her towards an ancient looking cabinet.

This can't be right. The uncertainty was gnawing at her insides. Nothing made sense! And how could he just push her around and think she would follow blindly? this could be a trap too. Whirling around she looked at him straight in the eye "Why?"

The look of surprise suddenly flashed across his face and was replaced with anger "why cant you just be fucking grateful?" he whispered furiously.

 _Seriously?_

"You don't need to have the answer for everything Granger and theres no time" he bit out almost resentfully. Something was odd and Hermione couldn't figure out what. Maybe it was the strange gleam in his eyes..it almost looked.. sad? He suddenly looked ahead of her at the cabinet. "get inside quick" he roughly pulled the handle open and pushed her into the dark space "take this" he conjured a little, black pouch and handed it to stunned to register anything, Hermione didn't move. Could this be some sick joke? Malfoy impatiently hung the pouch around her torso and whispered "You will be safe". Hermione was suddenly snapped back to reality after hearing those words "where will this take me!?" she asked panicking.

"Stay calm" he whispered in a hushed almost soothing tone.

Hermione looked at him and felt like she was seeing him for the first time. Every inch of his thin, pale face. He looked much older than when she had last seen him at Hogwarts a year ago. His face had matured and for a second Hermione even thought it handsome. Whats wrong with me ?! He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself looking unsure. Just then a loud bang echoed from somewhere and Malfoy closed the door in an instant. That second Hermione felt a rushing force hit her as if she was falling down really fast. Everything was a blur and for the second time again that day, Hermione blacked out.

* * *

The sound of footsteps was the first thing that registered in Hermione's mind. When she woke up her whole body felt stiff and sweaty. How long have I been unconscious? Everything was dark and she realized she was till in the cabinet. Was this a Vanishing cabinet? There was a sharp pain in her back when she tried to move, which she realized was from the awkward position her body had been in inside the tiny suffocating cabinet.

She could hear someone moving about outside and it made her very nervous. What if it was a death eater? She needed to get out and breathe but lord knows what was waiting for her. Scrambling for her wand she held her breath and slowly opened the cabinet door. Hermione stepped out and immediately took in the surroundings. A dark room, full of shelves cramped with strange and dodgy looking objects. The moonlight entering from the glass windows were the only source of light. Everything looked like it was meant for the dark arts. Wait a minute.. she knew this place. It was Borgin and Burkes! She'd never actually been inside the shop before. Fascinated she examined whatever she could see in the scant moonlight. Every inch of the place looked like it was cursed and that gave her a bad feeling.

"Who are you?"

Oh no ! why wasn't she more vigilant? She turned around slowly and was blinded by a bright light from the end of someone's wand. The man was standing a few steps away. How could she not notice? Whatever happened to constant vigilance? He lowered his wand and gave her a curious look. Hermione was struck by how handsome he was, tall with raven hair and dark eyes.

"Well?" he spoke softly.

What am I supposed to say? "Umm…" she looked around the room nervously "I'm here to buy something" she said a little too quickly and mentally slapped herself for not being more convincing. A strange girl didn't just pop up in Borgin and Burkes at night to 'buy something'.

He quirked a single eyebrow and eyed her with amusement.

"That wasn't my question" he replied in a silky voice and took a step closer, slowly, calculating. This made Hermione feel uneasy, he seemed like a predator stalking its prey.

"I'm Hermione." She said a little more confidently.

He was thin and young, couldn't be more than 18. She had never seen him before and was a little surprised to find someone like him in a place like this.

He wore a white shirt that looked a bit old but clean and black trousers. His dark hair was styled to the side like one of those actors from the 1940's. Strange.

"Hermione? That's an unusual name" he said with half a smile. The wasn't a hint of recognition she noted. "Im sorry but the shop is about to close. Its ten already, you'll have to come back tomorrow" His voice seemed apologetic.

"Oh" she looked uncertain "is it safe outside?" obviously he didn't know she was _the_ Hermione granger, wanted for being on the run with harry potter. Maybe this guy was actually just an innocent stranger. But how could that be? we're in the middle of a war! He's lying. Knockturn Alley didn't seem like the best place for her to go about wandering. Stupid Malfoy! He sent her to the one place where she would definitely get killed.

"Safe?" He repeated? He furrowed his brows then realisation seemed to dawn on him "If you would like, I could walk you home?" he offered politely.

"No thanks, I'll be fine on my own" After all she didn't need someone tailing her. She needed to get out and away from this guy who's obviously pretending to not know anything. She walked passed him cautiously towards the entrance of the shop with her wand held firmly but he didn't make any move to attack. she looked back and saw him standing where he had been.

"I didn't get your name.." Hermione said.

"My name is Tom. Tom Riddle". He said quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione couldn't sleep the whole night. She got out of bed at 7:00 am and walked towards the window in her small room that over looked the busy street below. The leaky cauldron in 1944 is actually cleaner and in better condition than how she remembered it in the future.

Nothing felt real anymore. This was all a horrible dream. Was this what Malfoy wanted all along? She thought angrily. Of course she wouldn't want to die in the hands of that deranged woman either but- she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She didn't know how to feel about this entire situation.

Last night she was paralyzed when Tom Riddle introduced himself. Hermione had quickly put two and two together. She was obviously sent back into the past. She made sure her face didn't betray any emotion, which would have definitely made him suspicious. Now as she thought about it she wanted to pat herself on the back for masking her shock. Finding out you were sent half a century back to the past and then meeting the Dark Lord would have given anybody a heart attack!

Young Voldemort wasn't at all how Harry had described him. That handsome face, the friendly smile and then offering to walk her home! _Oh he was good_ she thought hatefully. If she hadn't known what he would become in the future she would have fallen for all of it. Harry mentioned that he was cunning and cruel, but she never thought he was so different from his future self.

 _It was all an act_.

After stumbling out of Borgin and Burke she had mindlessly walked towards Diagon alley, still in shock from whom she had just met. There weren't too many people on the street as she walked towards the back entrance of the leaky cauldron. She was exhausted and needed a place to stay, a place to sit and think about what she should do next. She didn't have any money but decided that she would sort out one issue at a time.

Hermione observed the people below, in the street. Obviously all on their way to work. She definitely needed to buy new clothes, she thought, she didn't want to stand out and have people asking questions about her jeans and jumper. Turning around she contemplated about going back to bed when the pouch on the bedside table caught her eye. _How could I forget?_

Quickly she reached for the pouch and untied the string. It was definitely enchanted, just like the one she had had. _Interesting_. Her hand went in all the way and she started removing whatever she could feel and laid them all on the bed.

Looking down at all the items, she was now more confused than ever about Draco Malfoy. There was a first aid kit with all the basic healing potions for cuts, burns and illnesses. She couldn't help but feel relieved, looking down at her left arm covered by the sleeve of her jumper, she would need it. There was Parchment, quill and another rather heavy little bag. Curiously opening it her eyes widened in surprise. Galleons!? Malfoy had given her five thousand galleons. That's way too much money, she thought. Counting them again just to be sure, All enchanted into smaller versions to fit into the bag. _Draco Malfoy had stunned Bellatrix, saved her, given her a first aid kit and now, money!?_ She put her hand into the bag one more time to check if there was something else, she could feel paper. Pulling it out, she gasped. How did Malfoy get his hands on the marauder's map? Did this mean she had to go back to Hogwarts? It all made sense. Malfoy was looking out for her. But they hated each other didn't they? He was the son of a death eater, he called her foul names all the time in the corridors at Hogwarts. Why did he help her? An image of his sneering face came into her mind. _Mudblood_ , he had called her. Well, she was obviously wrong about him it seemed because saving her meant betraying the dark side, didn't it? So he knew she would be sent somewhere where she would need money. Did he mean to send her back into the past? And meet Tom Riddle? It couldn't be a coincidence.

Hermione sat down and stared at all of it, finally accepting the truth. She felt immense gratitude for her childhood nemesis. Remembering the last time she saw him, he _was_ acting a bit strange. He was going to say something, wasn't he? She felt a little guilty. All these years she hated his guts, but in the end when she was being tortured and then probably killed, it was he who had helped her out. She didn't get a chance to thank him, she thought solemnly.

The cabinet was another mystery. Vanishing cabinets transported people from one place to another but she had never heard of one that could make you travel through time! Did this mean that she could go back to her time? What was happening back in her time anyway? Were Harry and Ron safe? Did Draco get caught for saving her? The last two questions made her very anxious. Hermione realized she wouldn't be getting any answers.

Maybe _she_ didn't know anything about the cabinet, but there _was_ someone who did.

* * *

It was ten o clock and Hermione hurried down the narrow street that lead to Knockturn alley. Not having worn a skirt for ages, she kept trying to pull it down ever so slightly. Paranoid that it was a tad too short, but the woman in the shop said it was all the rage. Going by the looks people gave her way, she probably looked like she didn't belong there. Hermione made a sharp turn to the left, down a flight of stairs and stopped when she spotted Borgin and Burke at the end of the passage. Now that she knew he was Voldemort, she was nervous. Taking a deep breath and calming her nerves she walked to the shop and saw the reflection of herself in the glass window, wearing a white blouse and brown fitted skirt. She couldn't recognize herself. She entered the shop expecting to find Tom Riddle behind the counter, but instead she found herself looking at a plump man.

"What can I help you with, Miss?" he asked in a rather oily voice. This must be Caractus Burke. His beady little eyes watched her suspiciously. Probably wondering what a girl like her was doing in a shop like this.

"I'm looking for a cabinet" she said politely. As she walked towards the counter, she looked around quickly, where was the dark lord? She wondered.

"The vanishing cabinet?" He suddenly asked. Hermione nodded.

He moved out from behind the counter and showed her to the back of the room where she saw it. Never really examining it before, she noticed it had old looking symbols carved into the wood. "What exactly can this cabinet do?" she asked pretending to not know, but maybe Burke knew about the time travelling bit.

"All you need to do, Miss, is step inside, chant the spell and you disappear. You get transported to its sister cabinet." He said. That's all? He obviously knows more than he's letting on, she thought.

"so it only take you to the sister cabinet?" she asked making sure she sounded disappointed.

"well, yes." He looked a little puzzled "That's what vanishing cabinets do" he added.

"Oh. And where exactly is the other cabinet?"

"Its been lost for centuries, Miss. That's why this cabinet here doesn't work anymore. You see its broken" he said hurriedly, thinking she would lose interest in it "but I can sell it to you for half the price. It can be useful for storage." _Ughh_. Hermione wanted to roll her eyes. It obviously still worked, he just didn't know and she needed to find out how.

"Well, if it's broken then I don't think I'm going to buy it…" if he didn't know anything, she wasn't going to spend much time here anymore.

"Wasn't there a young man working here?" she suddenly asked.

"Oh, Tom? He only works here for the summer. Gone back to school I suppose." He muttered. Hogwarts? Of course ! He must be in his 7th year now, if he's gone back. "He knows the exact incantation for the cabinet, but it didn't work anyway." He said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Are you sure?" She asked, disbelieving.

"I wouldn't say it otherwise."

"That's a shame. I'll be on my way then" she turned around "umm…thank you" she hastily added while walking towards the door. "Would you like to look at something else, Miss?" he shouted behind her but Hermione had already stepped out onto the alleyway.

She started walking up the stairs back towards diagon alley. So the sister cabinet cant be found, Hermione thought. Thats because the other cabinet was stuck in her time. Burke said it's been lost for centuries, so it definitely has to be the one Malfoy had pushed her into. Why did he say it was broken? If Riddle knew the incantation, it should have sent someone to the future. Maybe he didn't know the correct spell? Or he was _lying?_

* * *

Back at the leaky cauldron, Hermione sipped her tea and thought about what she would do next. Now that she was back in the past, obviously she had an advantage. She was out of the war and could think of a way to either prevent it, or warn her friends and family. Nobody was dead yet.

Would it be wise to kill Lord Voldemort while he was still a teenager? Harry's parents would never be killed and in the process and nobody would have to suffer. That seemed like the simplest idea. But the simplest routes were usually never the best.

She could attend Hogwarts as a transfer student, find the right moment and kill him. But that wouldn't be right, would it? She was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Killing was never the solution! And two wrongs don't make a right. Hermione was now frustrated! If only Harry and Ron were here, their support would have helped. She missed them. For the first time she felt incredibly helpless. Being alone in another time, the reality was slowly setting in. she had never made a plan all by herself before.

Hermione twirled a lock of hair around her finger.

An idea struck her.

Maybe she could join Hogwarts and sabotage his plans?

She _did_ have an upper hand, being from the future and all. She knew about his Hogwarts days, everything Harry had seen in Dumbledore's office, those memories. She needed to get into Hogwarts, 'befriend' Tom Riddle and try to get into his inner circle. That way he would trust her and she could secretly muck up his plans. If things went well, he wouldn't turn into a monster. If things went bad, he would find out and… kill her? Hermione didn't like the sound of that, but it was worth the risk, wasn't it? Nobody would suspect her. It was a foolproof plan! Excitedly she pulled out the parchment and quill…

* * *

Flooing into the Headmaster's office, Hermione stepped out of the fireplace and straightened her clothes. An Old man, sitting behind the desk greeted her with a warm smile. "Ahh..You must be Miss Granger."

"Yes." She smiled, It felt good to be home.

Hermione had written to Armando Dippet about her 'situation'. How her family died and she fled from her hometown in Germany due to Grindlewald. The daily prophet had numerous articles about Grindlewald's recent activities. She wanted to complete her last year and chose Hogwarts because of its safety. She put in as much emotion as she could so that Dippet would sympathize. Apparently he was convinced. Even though classes had started, she was asked to join a week later with a list of school supplies. Hermione's first step was a success, she felt satisfied.

"I'm very sorry to hear about your loss, I'm sure our school will help u cope." He said reassuringly. "Have you got everything for your classes?"

"I have, Sir" said Hermione.

"Good!" he exclaimed "Now, I have notified all the staff of your admission here, the news would have no doubt reached the students too" he winked. Hermione laughed nervously. She never really liked to be the center of unnecessary attention, she could bet there were a million rumors about her already. She mentally groaned. "But first!" he clapped with excitement "lets sort you into your house!" Dippet stood up and went to retrieve the sorting hat.

Hermione didn't notice anything different about the office though. The office looked more or less like it always did, except for fawkes and some of dumbledore's personal possessions. Armando Dippet seemed nice, albeit a little gullible. Hermione honestly didn't think she would be accepted this easily, after all Hogwarts in her time never really had any 'transfer' students. Dippet didn't even _ask_ about where she studied previously! Dumbledore would have seen right through her, she thought warily.

"Here you are my dear" he brought the worn out looking hat and placed it on her head gently. Hermione felt like history was repeating itself at that moment.

" _hmm… you are brave… a lion maybe?"_ the hat spoke. Yes! Please put me into Gryffindor! " _But I sense a streak of something else… cleverness and_ _cunning?"_ NO! the word 'cunning' could only mean one house, she thought petrified. The hat laughed _"silly girl, Slytherin could make you great!_ " well now that she thought about it, she needed to get close to Riddle, obviously that would be easier if they were in the same house. " _Oh I see…hmm…no.."_

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted. Hermione thought for a moment that the hat would place her in slytherin, especially after it heard her plans. How stupid of her to think that, she was a muggleborn after all, she chided herself.

"Lovely! Let me owl your head of house, Professor Dumbledore."

* * *

It was a Saturday. Hermione was escorted to the Gryffindor common room by a young professor Dumbledore. At first she couldn't help but stare. To see a man who was dead in her time, someone who was a symbol of good against evil, made her very emotional. She couldn't help but let a big smile erupt on her face. Dumbledore was telling her about the rules and regulations of the school but she didn't hear a single word.

The common room was on the third floor, Dumbledore walked ahead of her and stopped in front of a portrait of Aphrodite. "Love." He said. The portrait slid to the side, and Hermione followed.

"Students, we have a new addition to our house." Dumbledore said cheerfully. Hermione shifted on her feet, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "This is Hermione Granger. A seventh year transfer student, I trust we will all make her feel right at home here."

More than a dozen pairs of eyes were on her. She gave them a small smile.

"Miss Thomas, would you kindly help Miss Granger here and show her to the girls dormitory?"

"Of course!" a girl with blonde curly hair stepped forward "its this way" she said beaming.

"Miss Granger" Hermione looked up at her new head of house. With twinkling eyes, he said "Dinner will be in the great hall and there will of course be an introduction." Without another word, he left.

Hermione turned back to the students who eyed her curiously "I'm Mary by the way. Mary Thomas" the girl excitedly held out her hand. Hermione shook it "We're glad to have you. This is sooo unusual! Never had a transfer before, right Ed?" She turned back to a Boy sitting on the couch, with Black shaggy hair and boyish features.

"Never." He gave her a lopsided grin "I'm Edward Potter."

 _Oh My._ A relative? Hermione beamed at him and shook his hand while the others introduced themselves…

The rest of the evening went by in a blur, She couldn't remember everyone's names but they had all been very welcoming. The girls asked her a lot of questions in the dorm, where she was from, why she had to transfer, what happened to her family…

After unpacking her belongings, which were all in the trunk that she enchanted to fit into her pocket, Hermione readied herself for dinner.

She washed her face and tried to tame her hair the best way she could. Most of the other girls had their hair in curls that were obviously styled but she couldn't bother with that. She tied her hair back in a high ponytail and examined her profile. Yup, that should do, she thought.

She looked at herself in the mirror and wondered, imagine what their reaction would be if they knew the truth? That she was actually generations younger than them. She laughed. She had never had to keep such a big secret before, a secret that only she knew and could not tell anybody.

She needed to get through with her plans. There seemed to be a glitch though, how was she to befriend Tom Riddle and gain his trust when she was a Gryffindor? He would obviously recognize her from their encounter at Borgin and Burke. That would surely get his attention.

She looked down at her left arm, which was healed completely, but the scarred word would probably never go, she thought bitterly. She would have to conceal it.

* * *

Hermione walked with Mary and Edward to the great hall. The latter reminding her so much of Harry, it almost made her heart ache.

"And professor Merrythought is a an old hag, but don't worry about her" Edward was filling her in about all the teachers. So far they were all either 'hags','tossers' or 'gits' with the exception of Dumbledore of course. Hermione giggled at his comical imitations. He was cute, she had to accept. Something about his casual and carefree attitude made Hermione feel like there was nothing wrong with the world.

Just as they reached the doors to the great hall, a tall figure was standing there, presumably waiting for them. Hermione's whole body stiffened, it was Tom Riddle.

"Riddle" Edward Potter nodded curtly, his dislike for the other clearly written all over his face.

"Potter, Miss Thomas" Riddle greeted pleasantly completely ignoring the dirty looks Edward threw his way. Riddle suddenly looked at Hermione and paused.

Mary began, awkwardly "T..This is Hermione. She's-" Riddle cut her off "I know." He replied silkily. "Hermione and I have already met" he finished suggestively, with a charming smile.

Mary and Edward immediately looked at Hermione questioningly and Hermione felt her cheeks heat up.

"Why don't both of you go ahead. As Head boy I have matters to discuss with the new student." Riddle's tone was calm but the underlying order couldn't be missed.

They nodded, walking to the door, turning back to look at Hermione worriedly and then the door closed behind them.

The entire corridor was deserted.

"Its nice to meet you again, Hermione" he spoke softly.

The torches from the corridor illuminating his face and making him look like some kind of angel.

"Even though our last encounter was rather short." he said with amusement in his voice.

Hermione forced a smile "Its nice to meet you too."

"How was your stay at the leaky cauldron?" he asked, looking innocent.

Her smile vanished.

Hermione stared at him.

"How did y-"

"I followed you." He said before she could finish, as if it was completely normal.

"Riddle, you _followed_ me?" She asked, incredulously.

"Yes, I did" he replied pleasantly "and please" he bent closer, barely above a whisper, "call me Tom."

The _way_ he said it, sent shivers up her spine.

He smirked.

 _Oh God._ She was in trouble.

.


End file.
